Cloud integration tools facilitate communication and data sharing between distinct applications. It's not simply for integrating a given set of applications and databases. The main aim is to create standardized tools capable of integrating everything the company has on the cloud and in the premises, including things that might be added in future.
The normal state of affairs these days involves critical data locked up safely on the premises, with some applications being run on-premise while others are hosted remotely or accessed as a service. It is a common mess that creates what is known as compartmentalized data silos, where users in one system cannot access data or applications in other areas.
The solution requires a mechanism that will securely import data, make it available to all applications, and keep it synchronized with on-premise databases. This can be implemented in three ways, with the choice depending on a whole lot of factors. For instance, IT manpower and resources, size of the company and the scope of the deployment all have to be considered.
The traditional method was to build the integration solution and its required infrastructure in-house. These were companies which already had established systems for integrating on-premise applications, so it was not that big a stretch to do the same for applications hosted on clouds. When SaaS providers started becoming popular, it was again not that big a deal to just extend the solution to include hosted services among the list of integrated applications.
To take this one step further, the connectors can be put on the cloud too. The only difference is that the integration setup does not have to be in-house. The customer still retains control over the tools and the ability to continue development with the help of a PaaS provider. This works nicely for companies that have the IT capability to develop tools and manage them, but do not want to add more IT hardware on the premises.
SaaS providers offering pre-developed integration tools as a service have now made things ridiculously easy. There are no infrastructure investment or IT resource requirements since it is not necessary to create and maintain the tools. The company just pays for use of a readily available. This makes it an ideal answer for clients on a tight deadline and no budget.
Not all enterprise customers can make do with a pre-developed SaaS solution. Their needs are likely to be more complex and require a fair bit of customization. It might be still be feasible if the deployment scope is limited, such as for a single division. As far as medium and small scale companies are concerned, the value in SaaS offerings is unbeatable.
There are a few things to look out for while considering solutions and providers for cloud integration. For instance, it needs to be able to integrate applications across different clouds. The time-frame and user training required has to be made very clear. A lot of brilliant solutions fail to realize full potential because there's no end to the changes being made, and users have no idea about the true capabilities of the system after it has been integrated.
The normal state of affairs these days involves critical data locked up safely on the premises, with some applications being run on-premise while others are hosted remotely or accessed as a service. It is a common mess that creates what is known as compartmentalized data silos, where users in one system cannot access data or applications in other areas.
The solution requires a mechanism that will securely import data, make it available to all applications, and keep it synchronized with on-premise databases. This can be implemented in three ways, with the choice depending on a whole lot of factors. For instance, IT manpower and resources, size of the company and the scope of the deployment all have to be considered.
The traditional method was to build the integration solution and its required infrastructure in-house. These were companies which already had established systems for integrating on-premise applications, so it was not that big a stretch to do the same for applications hosted on clouds. When SaaS providers started becoming popular, it was again not that big a deal to just extend the solution to include hosted services among the list of integrated applications.
To take this one step further, the connectors can be put on the cloud too. The only difference is that the integration setup does not have to be in-house. The customer still retains control over the tools and the ability to continue development with the help of a PaaS provider. This works nicely for companies that have the IT capability to develop tools and manage them, but do not want to add more IT hardware on the premises.
SaaS providers offering pre-developed integration tools as a service have now made things ridiculously easy. There are no infrastructure investment or IT resource requirements since it is not necessary to create and maintain the tools. The company just pays for use of a readily available. This makes it an ideal answer for clients on a tight deadline and no budget.
Not all enterprise customers can make do with a pre-developed SaaS solution. Their needs are likely to be more complex and require a fair bit of customization. It might be still be feasible if the deployment scope is limited, such as for a single division. As far as medium and small scale companies are concerned, the value in SaaS offerings is unbeatable.
There are a few things to look out for while considering solutions and providers for cloud integration. For instance, it needs to be able to integrate applications across different clouds. The time-frame and user training required has to be made very clear. A lot of brilliant solutions fail to realize full potential because there's no end to the changes being made, and users have no idea about the true capabilities of the system after it has been integrated.
About the Author:
Peggie K. Lambert loves working and research the world of data integration. If you are looking to learn more about integration as a service then she recommends you refer to Liaison.. Unique version for reprint here: Introduction To Cloud Integration And Its Types.